dallasmarssociety Meeting this Sunday Feb 24 at 6:30pm, Spaghetti Warehouse!

All:

This is a quick month, and it is time again! We will meet at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Plano, off of rt 75 at 15th street, at 6:30 pm on Sunday, Feb 24.

There are a number of activities going on, in our Chapter, National, and at NASA:

>the regional Science fair, and the first ever Dallas Chapter prizes being awarded on Feb 23. We will have details!

>The preparations for URC are getting into gear, with a record 15 teams registering this year (gulp!!)

>I’ve downloaded the Adobe InDesign software package, and we are gearing up to start work on the paper editing.

>The call for papers went out from National for the annual convention, to be held at Boulder this year in mid August.

>the poster contest from national

>progress and activity on the Zooniverse ‘Planet Four’ wind streak mapping project. I’ve done a few dozen photos – it is neat to be looking at actual pictures of Mars and to be working on an actual Mars Science project.

>Curiosity went drilling, and NASA has agreed on a 2020 rover, mission TBD. Meanwhile, in Washington……

See you there this Sunday!!

Kur__,_._,___

‘Mars Direct’ – Read Robert Zubrin’s New 50-Page Kindle Edition

Mars Society Announcement

February 18, 2013

‘Mars Direct’ – Read Robert Zubrin’s New 50-Page Kindle Edition

The human race is at a crossroads. In the coming years, we will make decisions about our human spaceflight program that will lead to one of two familiar futures: the open universe of Star Trek, where we have the opportunity to spread our wings and flourish as an interplanetary species or the closed dystopia of Soylent Green. If we ever hope to live in the former scenario, says Mars Society founder Dr. Robert Zubrin, our first stepping stone must be a human mission to Mars.

In MARS DIRECT: Space Exploration, the Red Planet, and the Human Future, a new 50-page Kindle edition by Penguin Publishing, Dr. Zubrin investigates the challenges and benefits of a manned Earth-to-Mars mission. These are challenges which, according to Dr. Zubrin, we are technologically more prepared to overcome than the obstacles of missions to the Moon in the 1960’s and 70’s. Dr. Zubrin’s plan could feasibly have humans on the surface of Mars within a decade. MARS DIRECT also discusses:

· The current predicament and bureaucracy of NASA and how it is crippling our space program

· The promise of privatized space flight from companies like SpaceX and how they are making more progress than government programs

· The larger importance of opening the final frontier to humanity and how it could be integral to our survival

Dr. Zubrin posits that man’s future as a species is intertwined with our ability to explore space and specifically Mars. In order to ensure humanity’s survival, we must take the necessary baby steps away from the cradle that is planet Earth or face the possibility of our ultimate extinction.

The Mars Society
www.marssociety.org
@TheMarsSociety

Call for Papers for 2013 Mars Society Convention

Mars Society Announcement

February 7, 2013

Call for Papers for 2013 Mars Society Convention

The 16th Annual International Mars Society Convention

August 15-18, 2013, The University of Colorado at Boulder

The Mars Society invites presentations for the 16th Annual International Mars Society Convention. Subjects for discussion can involve all matters associated with the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, including science, technology, engineering, politics, economics, public policy, etc.

Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent by May 31, 2013 to: The Mars Society, 11111 W. 8th Avenue, unit A, Lakewood, CO 80215 or via email to: abstracts (e-mail submissions are preferred).

Proposed Conference Sessions

  • The search for life on Mars
  • Latest findings from Mars spacecraft
  • Plans for 2013 Mars missions and beyond
  • Curiosity – Research & accomplishments
  • Concepts for future robotic Mars missions
  • Planning for human missions to Mars
  • Advanced space propulsion systems
  • Launch vehicles for Mars exploration
  • Long-range mobility on the Red Planet
  • Life support & biomedical factors
  • Human factors & crew composition
  • In-situ resource utilization
  • Mars agriculture & aquaculture technology
  • ‘The First Martians’ – A permanent Mars colony
  • Terraforming – Creating an ecology for Mars
  • How Mars technology can help life on Earth
  • Technologies for reaching the stars
  • Analog studies relating to Mars exploration
  • The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS)
  • The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS)
  • Technology to assist human space exploration
  • Entrepreneurial approaches to a Mars mission
  • Benefits of space exploration for humanity
  • Public policy for Mars exploration
  • Privately-funded Mars mission concepts
  • International cooperation & agencies
  • Law, governance & social systems for the Red Planet
  • Why Mars?
  • Philosophical implications for Mars exploration
  • Educating the next generation of ‘Marsonauts’
  • Asteroid missions & mining: A bridge to Mars?
  • Political action and outreach
  • Proposed projects for the Mars Society
  • The University Rover Challenge (URC)
  • Religion & space exploration
  • Phobos & Deimos: Missions to the Martian moons

Additional details about the 2013 Mars Society Convention will be posted online in the coming weeks and months (www.marssociety.org).

The Mars Society
www.marssociety.org
@TheMarsSociety